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Global mobility—the practice of deploying talent across borders through international assignments, relocations, remote cross-border work, or short-term project deployments—is an important component of many organizations’ talent strategies. However, several challenges continue to impede its effectiveness. A new 28-page benchmarking report by KPMG provides timely insights into how organizations are addressing these challenges. The report highlights how mobility programs are evolving, the shift from cost to value and employee experience, the increasing role of AI and automation, and the need to align mobility more closely with workforce and talent planning priorities. While there are many useful insights, two I want to highlight are: 1) organizations are revising mobility policies to support new ways of working—42% have conducted a policy review in the past year and 32% plan updates in the next 12–18 months. These shifts include expanding cross-border remote work options, increasing short-term and project-based deployments, offering more inclusive partner support (e.g., support for spouses/partners relocating together), and building more flexibility into policies upfront to minimize individual exceptions and ensure fairness and consistency; and 2) 60% of mobility teams now sit within talent management or talent acquisition, enabling closer alignment with workforce planning, leadership development, and strategic talent deployment, rather than functioning as a standalone operational support function. While the focus is on global mobility, I’m also resharing my one-page cheat sheet on common barriers to internal mobility, including examples of policies that may unintentionally limit movement and career growth within organizations.
